About Medieval Wedding Dresses
Brides in Medieval times were no different than brides today in wanting their wedding dress to be memorable. Medieval wedding dresses, however, were subject to very different customs than those of today. Weddings were largely familial arrangements; they rarely involved love and often the first time the bride and groom saw each other was on their wedding day. The bride's dress was a symbol of the family's wealth and stature in the community and so was as elaborate and impressive as the family purse would allow.
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Sumptuary Laws
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There were sumptuary laws in Medieval times that dictated what colors and fabrics each class was permitted to wear. People could be fined and even imprisoned for dressing above their station. However, a new middle class began to take hold during the Medieval Age and the line between the dress of nobility and that of the emerging merchant group began to blur. In fact, it eventually came to be that breaking sumptuary laws was a sign of elevated status.
Color
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A red wedding gown was a sign of wealth White may be standard for weddings today, but white wedding dresses have only been popular since the Victorian Age. In Medieval times, dyed fabrics were expensive status symbols so wedding dresses were as rich and colorful as the family could afford. The brighter, more saturated the color, the more expensive the fabric. Rich, bold colors were also said to symbolize the bride's happiness. Blue was the symbol of purity so even if the bride's wedding dress was not blue, both the bride and groom would wear a band of blue ribbon.
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Fabric
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Richly colored velvet, silks and satins were the most highly prized Brides whose families were well off had their wedding dresses made of silks, satins and velvets -- and lots of it. Skirts were full, flowing sleeves would trail the floor and trains were several yards long. In order to make the best impression possible, brides often copied the style of wedding dress worn by brides in a higher social class. Brides from poor families wore dresses of linen or fine wool, which was considerably finer than the coarse homespun of their everyday dress. The wedding dress would often become the bride's Sunday church dress after the wedding.
Trimming
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Royal brides had jewels sewn onto their wedding dresses sometimes completely covering the dress As with color and fabric, trimmings of fur and jewels were a sign of status and wealth. Royal wedding gowns were encrusted with diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires and pearls, causing the bride to literally sparkle as she walked down the isle. In the case of Margaret Countess of Flanders at her wedding to William II of Dampierre, her dress was so voluminous and laden with jewels that she could not walk and had to be carried to the church by two male attendants.
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References
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